Erik is a baseball fan who has been attending baseball games and snagging baseballs regularly since 2008.

11-19 & 11-20-10 Charlottesville VA

My winter away from baseball took brought me to Charlottesville VA for to see the last two Dave Matthews Band concerts of 2010. The concerts were much anticipated because these would be the last DMB concerts until at least 2012, as the band is taking its first break from touring since its inception in 1991.

It was about a five hour drive but well worth it.

The John Paul Jones Amphitheatre:Located at the University of Virginia:Our seats were located in Sec 115 Row N, which was the very first row on the side stage:Highlights of the concert were the song Spoon (the first time I’ve ever heard that song played live after 48 shows) Warehouse and Jimi Thing.

The next morning, we woke up very early to see the sun rise. It was pretty awesome to see it come up over the Blue Ridge Mountains.Since it was very early and we were at the top of a summit, the wind coupled with the cold made things very frigid. Here I am battling the double dose of cold and windThe sun finally showed itself kicking off day two of the Charlottesville trip.Later on that morning we headed into downtown Charlottesville:There I found the Jefferson Theater, where Dave Matthews played with Tim Reynolds on 5/27/93 and 12/12/93:Eventually, we found Miller’s bar, which was the birthplace of the Dave Matthews Band.I found this on nancies.org to better describe the bar:“

Miller's is a bar located on Charlottesville's Downtown Mall on Main Street.It is located in the old Miller's Drugstore building, and was turned into abar after being purchased by Steve Tharpe in 1981. In September of 2001 itunderwent some minor renovations before being sold to Scottie Kaylor. The newowner alternately suggested that massive renovations were likely and thateverything would be kept the same. By mid-2002, most of the waitstaff hadturned over, pool tables had been added on a new third level, the menu had beencompletely overhauled, and it had lost most of its long-time crowd of regulars.

It was at Miller's that the members of Dave Matthews Band first collaborated.Dave Matthews and Peter Griesar worked at the bar, which has long been ahotbed for jazz music in Charlottesville. Among the regulars at that timewere Leroi Moore, Carter Beauford, Tim Reynolds, Boyd Tinsley, Greg Howard,and many others. With the help of musician John D'earth, Matthews was able toassemble the Miller's regulars and the rest is history. Greg Howard, JohnD'earth, Tim Reynolds and countless other Charlottesville jazz performersperformed there regularly for years, although most of them have ended theirtenure there since Miller's was sold.

Due to Miller's position in DMB lore, it has become somewhat of a mecca forwide-eyed Dave Matthews Band fans."

Me outside the bar:And inside: There was an hour wait for food, so we headed down the street to Christian’s pizza where I stood in line for what seemed like an hour.After lunch we headed to the Shenandoah mountains and took a few pictures:After spending a few hours in the mountain it was time to head back to Charlottesville and the concert (night 2). Our seats were in the upper deck, section 313 row G, but I still had an absolute blast. The highlights of the concert besides just being there and dancing were:1) hearing Long Black Veil for the first time since my first DMB concert in 2000. It’s ultra rare nowadays, this just being the second time it’s been played full band since 2003.2) hearing the Song that Jane Likes3) hearing Write a Song for the first time.4) an amazing 5 song encore.

After the concert, we drove home through the night and got back at 5:30 AM. It didn’t help that this had been the longest concert in DMB history.

The next day on 11-21-10 I went to the Consol Energy Center to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.I wasn’t into it.We actually left early before the concert even ended to go to PPG Square to see the Christmas tree.Before leaving, I took a moment to demonstrate my severe dislike for the Penguins.I promise my next entry will have something to do with baseball.

My DMB Statistics:

Shows Attended = 49

Different Songs Seen = 155

# Song Performances = 902

Venues Attended = 18

By the way, I got 10 concert posters for $40 each before they sold out (I had early entrance tickets) which have sold for a nice profit on ebay.

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